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for Canada

By NIGEL MORGAN

At a comparatively unexplored spot in southeastern British Columbia is the na-
tural setting for what is destined to become the world’s biggest. dam — Mica Creek.
Here, high in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, 300 miles east of Vancouver and
93 miles north of Revelstoke, the mighty Columbia winds its way between two tower-
ing Mountain ranges. Construction of a 700-foot high dam could harness forces that

are capable of transforming
B.C. into one of the greatest
industrial regions of North
America, if not the world.

But Mica Creek is not only
famous for its potentialities as
one of the greatest engineer-
ing projects in Canadian his-
tory. It occupies the centre of
the stage in one of the great-
est dramas of this decade —
the fight for Canada, for an
independent, secure and pros-
perous future for Canadians.

In the two years since the
Labor - Progressive party
launched its campaign against
Premier W. A. C. Bennett’s
proposal to give away Colum-
bia River water to Kaiser Al-
uminium, public demand that
the water be developed in
Canada and for Canada has
grown.

Liberals, CCFers, trade un-
ions and a wide range of popu-
lar organizations, as well as

. that

the provincial daily press and
the Financial Post, joined the
outcry against the Kaiser deal.
Thousands of people in the
province signed the LPP peti-
tion denouncing the giveaway.

Subsequently, passage of
federal Bill 7 — the Interna-
tional Waters Act — tied

the Kaiser deal in knots.

Because the deal was block-

ed US. hids for Columbia
water power have been in-
creased.

The last session of the legis-
lature was informed that the
Kaiser interests were  will-
ing to pay $18 million for
Columbia waters — one year
after Premier Bennett had
tried to convince the people
$1 million would be a
fine bargain. And even $18
million would be a paltry re-
turn for surrendering control

inland em-

over a_ potential
pire.

. e'

With a power potential of
34 million ki’owatts, the Co-

limbia has a capacity almost
five times that of the St.
Lawrence River. It equals the
great Volga-Don system of the
USSR in its possibilities.

Canadian engineers estim-
ate that the Columbia _ice-
fiela could activate 26 million
kilowatts in hydro-electric
energy for -this country, pro-
vided surplus storage in the
Canadian half of the Columbia
is used in Canada instead of
the U.S.

Today it has become one of
the central questions of pro-
vincial  po‘itics. Will Colum-
bia waters be harnessed under
Canadian control to produce
hydro-electric power needed
for industrial development of
B.C., or will they be used, as
Premier Bennett has proposed,
primarily to increase the pow-

>

er resources of the U.S.?

What are estimated power
needs of B.C.?

The present rate of growth—
the highest anywhere in North
America and one of the high-
est in the world — amounts
to an increase of 15 percent a
year. At this rate which
seems more likely to increase
than decrease power re-
auirements will double in five
years, and double again with-
in ten years.

The government’s B.C. Pow-
er Commission has announced
it expects to have to meet
treble.the present requirement
by 1961, and the B.C. Electric
says it expects to double its
loac within six years.

These anticipated require-
ments expose the shortsight-
edness of Socred giveaway
po icies. The difficulties and
obstacles which have to be
overcome to protect valuable
fisheries on remaining rivers

before harnessing them for
power development, no less
that recent announcements

that the government has been
forced to begin investigation
of the feasibility of thermal
generation of electricity by
coal-steam, point up the urg-
ency of power conservation.

Mica Creek is the site for
Canada’s biggest single power
project. But the’ Bennett gov-
ernment seems intent on turn-
ing it over to U.S. control.

First, Bennett tried to sneak
through the initial U.S..pro-
position of storage dams
only.” Then he tried, again un-
successfully, to sell Columbia
water power for $18 mil.ion.

Now for Canadian-U.S. top-
level discussions, he has a new
plan.

Last March, Prime Minister
St. Laurent and President
Fisenhower met at White
Sulphur Spring. A terse an-
nouncement stated , that a-
mongst other things’ they
would confer “on the use of
boundary waters, including
the disputed development of
the Columbia River.”

later Liberal
Senator Tom Reid announced
that he expected an “early
U.S.-Canada agreement;” that
the Mica Creek decision would
be known within three
months. Subsequent announce-
ments by the Canadian repre-
sentative on the International
Joint Commission, General A.
G. L. MacNaughton (revers-
ing bitter opposition to Socred
plans) and government spokes-
man, show that the federal

Two weeks

Liberals (who sold short ca
ada’s vital interest in the
Lawrence Seaway) cannot bé
depended to defend our righ

on the Columbia. q

As a result of' U.S. pressuré
at top government level an
in view of recent federal ane
nouncements, Bennett lost n@
time in announcing his new
plan.

On his return from Wall
Street he told newspapermell
that he “wants Americans
build the gigantic Mica Creek
dam,.turn it over to Canadians,
‘rand deliver 20 percent of the
increased U.S. output.” 4

The federal government ©
evidently prepared to go along
with Bennett’s plan, except
that it wants a 50 percent r
turn on U.S. downstream ben
fits, estimated to be worth al
edditional 14,000,000,000 kilo=
watt hours of extra power @
year. Resources Minister Jeatl
Lesage will fly to Victoria th
coming week to confer wi
Bennett in preparation f
further discussions im Was
ington at the end of the sum
mer.

In those discussions the ec
nomic destiny of British Co7
lumbia “and western Canada
will be at stake. Canadag
right to develop and utilize
the Canadian section of the
Columbia under the Bound™
ary Waters Treaty, of 1909 18
indisputable. The public will”
deal very harshly with any)
authority that permits a hasty
development now for small
benefits to Canada, instead of
a proper, long-term program:

For less than the federal
Sovernment was spending fol
war every three months if}
1944-45, the Columbia could”
be harnessed by Canadians for
the benefit of Canadians.

Instead of continuing his”
efforts to turn this irreplace7
eble resource over to a U.S:
monoply, Premier Bennett
should seek federal aid in de-
veloping the Columbia now
and linking this vast water
shed to a greater B.C.-Albert@
pewer grid, thus opening up
a new era of development for
our western provinces.

The B.C. Power Commission,
which is already established
at Whatshan on the Columbia
Waterway, should be expand-
ed to harness the entire Co-
lumibia:- water system, and pro-
vide electric power at cost
This is the way to an abund
ant supply of low-cost energy
for the future. This is wha
British Columbia needs, and”
what the vast majority of
British Co’umbians want.

‘A quote to

“JHE RISK we ave now taking has not been cal-

culated. We are playing with
knowing only that the flame is hot and that we as
material are inflammable .. . If we don’t worry about
ourselves, we should at least worry about the quality
of our descendants. The test bomb explosions are ine |
excusable and should cease.”’

remember

anew kind of fire,

Prof. N. J. Berrill of
McGill University on

the effects of radiation.

June 29, 1956 —

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 12